Tim James's thoughts about South Africa's wines.

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The Cape’s top up-and-coming wine producers

A month ago, while my poll to nominate South Africa’s Top 20 wine producers was under way, I wrote about the subsidiary question regarding “up and coming” producers and how gratifyingly difficult it was to restrict oneself to just three. Well the poll is now concluded and the main results are out, so here are the results of that vote. I did ask voters to nominate up to three wineries that “have so far delivered no more than three vintages”, but not everyone was very good at counting vintages, so a few younger wineries got votes (the likes of Restless River and Momento) – and even well established ones like Crystallum and Creation. It also should be pointed out that a handful of the woters (more likely pressed for time than without opinions, I’d guess, knowing who they are!) didn’t answer this question.

There are however a clear top three, and all just fit into the three-vintage rule. In ranking order they are:

Richard Kershaw

Thorne & Daughters

Storm

That’s Richard in the pic alongside.

The runner up, some way behind, but the only other winery to get more than a few votes, was B Vintners.

I will shortly report on the other categories I asked for votes on: the top red, white, sparkling, dessert and fortified wines. I confess I still have to prepare the spreadsheet for one of those categories….